A Tag for my baby

I made a tag for my gift to my baby for this year's Kris Kringle. I didn't have a hard time looking for what she requested. It could easily be bought at supermarkets. If you're wondering what it is, It's EQ diaper for new born. She is expecting her first baby this January. I bought her two packs, one for new born and the other size small, as I know babies tend to grow a lot faster these days. Anyway, here is the tag made from kits from SBG's Christmas Blog Train.



BTW, our theme for this year is Disney characters. :)

Happy Holidays

This is the season to be jolly. Yes, I am really feeling the spirit of Christmas. And I am uber excited to make lots of LOs with all the free christmas digikits I've been hording. There is an SBG blog train where you can download free christmas digi kits from different designers! Just don't forget to thank them when you download. You can find the link here.

And here is my take using one of the free kits on the blog train made by Thatyana of Thaty Borges Designs.



Apologies for the not so sharp picture. I couldn't seem to find a way to resize it without getting pixelated. Will research more on this.

Clever Migs

My love for digital scrapbooking has been revived. Despite losing my previously downloaded free digikits, It didn't stop me from searching and downloading new ones. I was happy to discover a lot of digital scrapbooking blogs that give out so many free full size kits! Aside from Shabby Princess, Peppermint Creative and Rakscraps who are giving away wonderful kits, I found this one which is now one of my favorite blogs. You can download free kits but don't forget to say thank you. That's all these designers wanted to hear from us.

This is the Layout I made using 2 of my downloaded free kits (Hello Foxy and Happiest Season of All) from Everyday Mom Ideas.

Where have all my kits gone?!

I have a lot of free templates to use for digital scrapbooking and I was very excited to use them. I have stored most of my downloaded digital scrapbooking kits in my brother's HD. When I was about to scrap last night, I was surprised to find that all of my kits were gone! even the photos I saved that I'm planning to use for my scrap! I'm praying and hoping that these files were still in our old computer. I am about to find out later when I get home. Grrrrrr!!!!

Ryan Gosling and The Notebook

Over the long weekend I've watched What's your number? and Crazy Stupid Love which stars two of the most handsome and appealing actors today. Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling. But if I were to choose, I'd go with Ryan Gosling. He's not that handsome but his sex appeal is way too high.

I know he's the guy in "The Notebook" but I never noticed him then because I did not enjoy the movie the first time I watched it. I hate movies that make you cry. Anyway, of all the movies that he made, The Notebook was by far the most popular. And because he is now my ultimate crush, I wanted to see more of him. I searched through our DVDs and found a copy of the movie. I watched it twice this week and was surprised that the movie wasn't that sad at all, although it still made my eyes teary. I am planning to buy another DVD for keeps and look for a copy of his other films.

I feel like a teenager again, crushing on movie stars. This really made my week! :)



P.S.
As my sister said, Chris Evans is buddy material while Ryan Gosling is boyfriend material.

Flower Stories Cafe

I am always fond of checking good deals from Groupon, Ensogo and Metrodeal. And lately, I registered sa Cash Cash Pinoy. Last month I purchased an eat-all-you-can deal at Metrodeal. This is to treat my family on my birthday.

The restaurant who offered the deal was Flower Stories Cafe. I searched it on the internet but found no information about them. Apparently they are new to this kind of business. I just found this blog and was surprised with all the negative comments the restaurant had been receiving. I was worried that I might get disappointed too. Fortunately the restaurant acknowledged all the comments and made some changes to satisfy their customers. From then on, the comments were improving. Naging kampante na ko.

The day came when we used the coupons. I was actually amazed with the place (syempre nasa Intramuros kaya parang kakaiba). The street where the building was do not have squatters as opposed to the comment I read. There are squatters in that area but not on the street where the building was. The dining area is a veranda on the 6th floor of the JS contractor building.

We came early but they were already set up so we did not wait too long to eat. They had cream of mushroom soup (I think), plain rice, java rice, pasta bolognese, roast beef with gravy and mixed vegetables, pork teriyaki, breaded fish fillet and onion rings with separate sweet and sour sauce, vegetable sticks with thousand island dressing and chocolate fountain where you can dip the banana, marshmallows and champola sticks! The whole family enjoyed the lunch and I was very happy! Kahit ako super busog! My sister even asked magkano ang regular price nila. Ang cute kasi ng place e.

All in all it was worth the 200 pesos each I spent. I still have 2 remaining coupons and I can't wait to use them! :)

Cream of Mushroon Soup

Pandan Rice

Spaghetti Bolognese

Java Rice

Pork Teriyaki w/ Bean sprouts

Roast beef w/ gravy and mixed vegetables

Breaded Fish fillet and onion rings w/ sweet and sour sauce

Vegetable sticks w/ thousand island dressing

Veranda Dining Area

My Family

To All Store Owners

It is not the obligation of customers to provide exact change when purchasing. It is the obligation of the store owners and the sales person.

I was craving for a hotdog on stick yesterday. On my way home, I stopped by a store selling them. I was greatly disappointed and pissed when "Kuya" told me he couldn't sell me one because he doesn't have a change for 100 peso bill! What made it worst was that he wasn't even apologetic and was a bit rude. E paano kung lahat ng bibili e 100 pesos ang pera? Hindi na niya pagbibilhan? E di wala na siyang kinita?

If you are a seller and you know that you don't have change for bills anymore, do something about it. Don't tell the customer you don't have a change. It gives a bad impression and is very bad for business.

BF owns a restaurant and he makes sure that he has change for his customers. Everyday, he goes to the bank to have his money changed to smaller bills. Kung maubusan, humahanap siya ng paraan.

Sadly, I left the (hotdog) store with a heavy heart (because I did not get what I wanted) and an angry stomach. I vowed never to buy on that store ever! Yan ang mapapala ni Kuyang hindi marunong dumiskarte.

Triplets

My sisters and I were always mistaken as triplets or sometimes twins in pictures. Some couldn't even tell who is who. It's cute but annoying sometimes.

I made an LO using Rakscraps October Mega Kit and template from Peppermint Creative's Pimp my Page. I added photos from our outing last summer in celebration of my Aunt's birthday.

New look

I've been wanting to change the look on my blog with my own design using digital scrapbooking papers and elements. The problem is, I don't know how. Last night, I had the time to search for tutorials. There are different techniques to do it but I found this to be the easiest.

Next project would be a blogger banner or maybe I can make this background more beautiful? :)

Sisters FOREVER

Credits: You+Me by Kitty Designs and Rakscraps' September Mega Kit

True to note. My sisters and I have a very special bond. A bond that cannot be broken by anything or anyone. No matter how mad we get with each other, we manage to fix it. We rely on each other through good times and bad. We lend each others' ears when someone gets heartbroken or had a bad day at the office. I am very lucky to have them not just as sisters but as true friends....

I Love You Guys!!!

Four-eyed me

I was using glasses since I was 9 years old because of astigmatism. The doctor said it could be corrected but I refuse to wear the glasses I had then regularly because it made me look old. Now, I'm suffering for my stubbornness then. My vision was never corrected, now I had to suffer wearing glasses or contact lenses. Aside from maintenance because I had to go to the eye doctor every year to check if my glasses need adjustments, I had to buy disposable contact lenses every month.

My last pair (glasses) was bought at Quaipo where they sell cheap frames, I bought mine for just 1300 pesos and this came with multi-coated lenses. Unfortunately, it was broken about a year ago and since then I never had the time to go back to replace it. I had to use my old nerdy glasses with a lower lens grade.

Last week, there was an announcement at the office that there will be a free eye check-up and the glasses can be paid on 4 installments. After the check-up (my grade went from 125 to 150) :( I chose my glasses. It was so hard to pick as I was looking for nerdy glasses but something smaller than my previous one. Then I found this cute purple glasses that is perfect for me. It is much costly than what you could buy at Quiapo but this was on my convenience because I really don't have any time to go there.

I just received my glasses today and boy I was happy! I just hope it's durable and would last longer than my previous glasses... :)

MOJO kicks in

It's been a while since I made my last digital scrapbook. Our computer at home crashed and since my brother always uses his laptop I had no means of doing any layout, and besides I wasn't feeling like making any.

This week was a surprise, MOJO is lurking around. Though I have no means, there always seems to be a way. I did two layouts during office break time this week since my computer has Photoshop installed... :)

Here are two layouts I made... :)

Cruisin' Manila Bay

It's all about me me me me me....

Credits:
Spontaneous Delight by Carrie Stephens from Shabby Princess
Pinwheel Bubble by Miss Mint from Peppermint Creative

Cruisin' Manila Bay

Do you find it romantic to have a dinner on a yacht or boat while cruisin' the sea? You'll find my answer on the bottom of the post...

2 weeks ago, we were treated by my BF's sister on a dinner cruise using Ensogo's coupon. The yacht/boat was docked at the back of Folk Arts Theatre near Gloria Maris' Restaurant.

It was raining that time and I thought it would spoil everything, good thing it stopped when the boat left the dock. The boat cruised through the Bay to Mall of Asia then to Baywalk. There was party on the boat and the 6 of us felt like party crashers as we were the only ones not invited. They were doing the karaoke and the music was unbearable, too loud for our ears. BF and I went to upper deck to have a better view.

The cold wind gently blowing on your face while cruising the bay was a very nice feeling. I enjoyed that date except for the loud music on the karaoke and the awful buffet....

My answer: Dinner on a cruise is definitely romantic as long as there's no party on board and you get to choose your food.. :)

Discount Coupons

I was introduced into the world of discount coupons by my colleague who is very fond of looking for good deals on food. He just likes to look at good deals but never really got to try any of them because payments are mostly made through credit cards and he doesn't have one.

So far I have purchased 5 coupons and have used 1 one of them. I wasn't disappointed and it made me more excited to try the other coupons. Aside from great deals on food, beauty and wellness, there are even greater deals on travel.

Last deal I got was from Metrodeal, a lunch or dinner eat-all-you can buffet at Flower Stories Cafe in Intramuros. I am planning to use this on my birthday with BF and a few friends.





You can check the details of the deal here. You may also wanna check out Ensogo and Groupon for more great deals!

Better Luck Next Time

God gives us what we want in His time....

I sometimes think of working abroad to save up and help my family with its financial needs. I had an opportunity to be interviewed for a job in Singapore. Although half-hearted because this was very sudden, I went to Singapore for the interview. The expenses were shouldered by my Aunt. BF even gave me pocket money. I had the support of my loved ones and received a lot of good lucks.

I had two interviews and I thought it went well. I had to go back to the Philippines even before I receive the result of the interview as I was only allowed one week leave of absence.

I received an email Monday morning that they preferred the other interviewee as she has more experience with the job. I was saddened but thought it was ok. The location of the company is very far from where my Aunt lives and I would surely have a hard time going to work.

I guess this is not yet the time for me to work abroad. I may still have a purpose here that's why I wasn't accepted.

In God's perfect time...

Travelling Alone

I am back in Singapore for a job interview and vacation at the same time. This is my first time to travel without a companion. I was a bit scared but at the same time excited because it's going to be an adventure.

I woke-up very early Saturday morning. My flight is at 1035 AM, and since I'm travelling alone I want to be at the airport 2 hours before my flight. I told my father (who will drop me off since BF's car is unavailable) that we should leave at 630 AM the latest to avoid morning traffic.

I seemed to have over estimated the time because we were at the airport by 7 AM. The flight was delayed about 30 minutes but we landed at Singapore on time. I don't know how the Pilot did it but I guess I should thank him for it.

Anyway, I was completely lost at Changi Airport. I don't know where to get my luggage. I had to ask the information desk which was a bit embarassing.

My aunt was already waiting for me and we had lunch as I was so hungry. There was no free food on the flight.

It was a fun experience travelling alone but I still wish I could have someone to travel with. Maybe next time...

Contemplating

I've been considering working abroad just to have enough savings for the future. I don't want to live the rest of my life there since my family is here and BF of course.

Earning money here in the Philippines is very hard except when you have a high position and is working in top companies. I have been working for over 6 years now and I haven't saved much.

Last thursday, I received a message from my Aunt, who is residing in Singapore, to send her my updated resume. A friend of hers is looking for someone who has a background in chemistry.

I sent her my updated resume yesterday and she asked me to send it to the office administrator of the company. I immediately received a reply and the office administrator was asking me if I am coming to SG. I will be going through 2 interviews and the job success would depend on whether I am qualified to be given an employee pass. BTW, my aunt would shoulder the travel expenses should I decide to pursue my application.

It seems, everything is happening so fast. I don't have my full heart on this decision. I don't think I'm prepared for this transition, for this change in my life.

I need pieces of advice. I need people to tell me this is for the best. I am feeling sad. I don't know if this is what I really wanted....

Making My Own

I was having a chat with my good ol' friend Rizza. Her mom is a dressmaker and she reminded me of my late aunt. She was a dressmaker too. A good one I would say. She used to make dresses for us every Christmas, repairs our uniforms and made our flower girl gowns. She even made our Prom dress! I miss her so much... One thing I regret was not asking her to teach me, even just simple sewing. I never learned it, it wasn't included in our curriculum back in high school.

It's never too late to learn how. I've been browsing for tutorials on dressmaking. My sisters and I are planning to start an online clothing business. We're just starting. I've requested for a quotation on sewing machines online. Hope I could receive their reply soon so we could buy it right away.

My sister also searched for someone to teach us the basics. There are times when you need an actual tutor and not rely on tutorials.

I'm excited and I really want to pursue this. It would minimize costs on clothes and would give me a feeling of accomplishment because I am wearing something of my own...

Watch out for my future posts on this endeavor. Wish me luck!

Desserts!

Huey Ying Restaurant is opening a new extension in their Macapagal Branch soon. And with this extension they are going to open a desserts bar, a joint venture of BF's sister and her BF. They requested that I take photos for their menu and banner. I was surprised and hesitant at first. Food photography is already in the advance photography class, which I didn't take. Anyway, I couldn't refuse. I browsed through the net and found these very helpful tips. I also visited a bookstore and checked out a few books on baking.

I was expecting that we will do the photoshoot (kuno) at their restaurant in MOA. But it seemed inconvenient for them to bring all the cakes so they decided to do it at home instead. I was picked up by Kaling at MOA then off we went to their house.

I chose to set it up on the back of their house where there is natural light instead of inside where most of their light is incandescent (it would be harder for me to control the lighting). I wish BF was there as he is very artistic when it comes to presentation. Me? I have no talent in that area.

I was having difficulty taking shots of the whole cake but was loving the sliced one.

Well, here are the final outcome of my shots on their desserts. These will still be edited and I hope the outcome will be great.

Moist Chocolate Cake

Mango Cheesecake

Blueberry Cheesecake


Almond Jelly w/ Lychee

They also have mango sago which they haven't perfected yet so I had to skip posting that one.

I hope they could use some of the photos, if not, no biggy. I enjoyed the shoot and it introduced me to the world of food photography.

Enlarging photos at blogger

I've been having this dilemma about the photos I'm uploading at blogger. It's too small for my eyes! I wanted to enlarge it but it gets pixelated. So I did a little research on google and I have found the easiest way to enlarge my photos.

If you too want to enlarge your photos the easiest way, check it out here.

Summer in SG

I've been wanting to revive my interest in digital scrapbooking. I have downloaded a few new kits but couldn't find the time to use them yet. So for now I resort to using Quickpages and I found a cute one here. It's a bragbook freebie and it contains lots of quickpages for boys and girls.

I've chosen one and dig up some photos from our Singapore trip last summer.



Credits:

Quickpage from hawtmamas using Traci Reed's summer kits.
Alpha - created using paper from YOU+ME kit by kitty designs.

Hope to create more digiscrap LOs.

Not liking regulatory job

I've been asked to facilitate notification of our products since our regulatory officer resigned. Nobody seems to want her job. Now I know why.

I went to FDA, Alabang yesterday to notify 4 products and have some layouts reviewed. I've waited for 2 hours only to find out that the FDA logo on the notification forms is incorrect. The culprit would be my old computer in the office where I downloaded the form on the website. I couldn't seem to view logos on that computer, ggrrrhh. Anyhow, my trip there wasn't wasted because I was able to have 2 layouts reviewed. There was only one correction on one layout but the other one have major issues because the claims doesn't seem to fall in to cosmetics but as a drug already.

I had no choice but to go home and correct the mistake on the notification form the following morning.

After I downloaded and filled up the correct notification form, I was having second thoughts on the balm and ointment part that we declared. It was intended for drugs and not for cosmetics. My boss insisted on those terms so I went to FDA and filed it.

My hunch is correct, those products were rejected again! The regulatory officer at FDA told me what to write but my boss said that before I change anything, marketing needs to be informed first.

Well, there goes my second day at FDA. One product was approved but I couldn't notify it because the cheque I have is intended for all those products that I was supposed to notify.

Now, I'm hungry and tired. Hope BF relieves my stress, because I'm going to meet him later.

Change Shift

It's a start of a new week and I am back to my regular 7-4 shift. For the past two weeks, I was assigned to an 8-6 shift to assist with in-line QC. Our production is at its peak and they needed extra help so I rendered my service. When we were told of the overlapped QC schedule I had a little objection. Even though I am a trained In-Line QC it's not my main job. I have been asked to assist before but they never changed my schedule. The 8-6 schedule does have its perks. I am never late and I have a 1 hour overtime. But then, I have lots of things to do in documentation and now that our Regulatory Officer resigned, I had to step up and do some of her job.

Despite the work overload because of the people leaving. I am happy now that I'm back on a regular schedule. This means that I could go home early and just have my OT whenever I want to.

Wham vs Army Navy

I like burgers. It's not a favorite but I would want to eat it occasionally. Other than burgers found at a regular fastfood like Jollibee and McDo, I have also tried burgers at Brother's Burgerand Wham!. So far Wham burger is on the top of my list. An officemate of mine has been raving about the burger at Army Navy so I've been meaning to try it since then.

Last night, while waiting for the rain to stop and the flood to subside I went to Glorietta 5 where there is a branch of Army Navy. I was so excited that I'm finally gonna get to try their burger. I ordered a single patty burger, freedom fries and the LIBERTea Iced Tea.

So what is their rating?

They FLUNKED! Totally failed my taste test...

The burger patty is dry. The fries is very thinly sliced (I like thick fries), a little bit spicy and tastes like KFC fries. Their LIBERTea Iced Tea? Very bitter. I thought the dark sesame seeds on the burger bun was the culprit for the bitterness but as I sip the Iced tea the bitterness intensifies. It's also too pricey for me, maybe because I wasn't satisfied with their food?

These are what I ordered

The following day, I told my officemate about my experience at Army Navy. He couldn't believe it. He was at two of its branches at Greenhills and SM North and everytime he was very satisfied. So I was wondering, was it just that particular branch at Glorietta? Well, one thing's for sure, I won't be eating at their branch in Glorietta again. Or maybe not eat at Army Navy at all... :(

Wham burger, you're still the no. 1 burger for me....

Quarterly Product Use

One of the things or should I say the only thing I like working at a cosmetics company is we can purchase our products for FREE! Every quarter we are allowed to buy products worth 6500 and since we have a new line of make-up out in the market that's where most of the 6500 went.

Here are my purchases for the second quarter QPU:

Skintificates for me and my sisters

Best for insect bites as well as chapped, dry lips like mine

Something I can't leave without. Sun protection for my face.

Lip Gloss in Smack! and Subtle Shine Lipstick in Alizarin

Skin Bloom Blush in Pant

Got this on sale. Eye Oh My Eyeshadow Trio in Cocktail Hour.

All of My QPU purchases. Some were from 1st Quarter.

Another favorite product of mine is the Illuminants+ Antiperspirant. It's always in my list. It lightens underarms and prevents sweating.

Other products without individual photo are:

Id Lotion - Great for calluses.

Fine Finish Pore Minimiser - You can feel your skin tightens even on the first use.

Superskin Line for Combination Skin - Includes a cleanser, scrub and moisturizer. (I got these for my sister)

Glow Lip and Cheek Tint in Morning Sunshine - A brown with an orangey tint lip gloss. It gives just enough color on your lips. It's sticky to use on the cheeks though.

Next month will be having our third quarter QPU and I'm already planning what to get next... :)

Singapore Day 1

We left our house in Manila at around 11:15 AM. When we arrived at the airport we immediately fall in line at PR 501 bound for Singapore so our luggages could be checked in. It seemed that the line wasn't moving so one of the airport supervisors pointed us to the line bound for Vancouver. My aunt handled our passports and took care of the transactions at the airport. We had to pay the travel tax and terminal fee then off we go to the immigration. We were advised by a family member not to go to a woman who wears eyeglasses and looked surly. Luckily, the immigration officer that interviewed us was very kind and jolly. We waited for a while at the boarding area then off we go to the Airbus flight PR 501.

Waiting for our flight

This was the first time I traveled by plane and BF gave me a few tips. When the plane took off I got really scared and was very thankful that I wasn't seated by the window. When the we reached the right altitude, the ride became very smooth and I became relaxed. Food was included in our package and I thought it was just snacks but was suprised that it was a full meal. We were ask our choice of main dish if fish or chicken (I chose chicken) and drinks. Bread and butter, salad and dessert were also included. I was very satisfied with the meal, I ate everything! Since it was a 3 hour flight they featured a movie so we wouldn't get bored. They showed Big Momma 2. It was very funny and we were laughing while the rest of the passengers were sleeping. We arrived at Singapore at around 7:15 PM. So muhc for the 7:00 PM arrival that the Pilot announced. Oh well, at least we landed safe and sound.

Upon entry to Singapore we went straight to the immigration (no questions asked), waited for our luggage then went out. We were welcomed by my cousin's cousin because she was expecting a pasalubong from her. We also had to wait for our sundo. When my aunt arrived had our dinner first at Mc Donald's. They were discussing what mode of transportation to take. Bus or MRT. We decided to take the MRT route because it's faster just less than an hour to Bukit Batok